Star Trek Maximillian: Needs of the Many
by Chris C Stephenson
Summary: As the Maximillian locates a missing escape pod and an old enemy along with it, Captain Kelvok must come to a decision: the death of a planet, or the potential end of the Federation.
1. Chapter 1

For more information and to purchase published works,

please visit maxwriters. pbwiki. com

The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

Prologue

As the night shift moved past it's mid-point on the Maximillian, the lights dimmed throughout the ship as part of a new plan Lieutenant Squirrley had been working on in Engineering. The less power going to the lights and non-essential systems, it was theorized, the more power that could be dedicated to the engines, at least in this late hour when less than a third of the standard staff was on duty. So throughout the halls and decks of the Mighty Max the LEDs faded, and there was no one there to see it happen. Waste not, want not, as the saying went.

One place that hadn't dimmed, however, was the quarters of the Maximillian's captain, the Vulcan Kelvok. Even for a Vulcan he slept less than most everyone he knew on the ship, and only the androids on board were unconscious for less time. He considered sleep to be a waste of precious resources, though he knew of its beneficial properties as well. His average was only a scant few hours a day, far less than he knew he should be getting. But he was still able to function at an acceptable level of energy for the majority of the standard day, and throughout many others when a crisis erupted, as was happening all too frequently these days.

Fortunately, in the past couple of weeks, the level of activity had lessened a bit. No invaders or assassins, and no problems with camera crews unintentionally throwing the crew out of sorts. The attentions had returned to something Kelvok did not mind at all, standard exploration and study, the science part of the Federation equation that was too often overshadowed by battles and threats of war. And while his long-hidden Romulan side thirsted for conflict and action, he much preferred this calm, even as he knew that the calm could break into a sudden storm at any time.

Having left his chair hours before, Kelvok had passed the night hours reading a book of ancient lore. Not Vulcan lore, of course, as Kelvok had long since exhausted his interest in the politics and traditions of his people. After so many books and teachings, he felt he knew enough about the Vulcan race to lead a thousand seminars. His interests now turned to the occult, and his current readings were on the legends surrounding vampires, a myth that had somehow survived and thrived in the unknown reaches of space, far beyond its origins on the planet Earth, several centuries before.

After moving through three chapters of the tales, Kelvok had moved on to a treadmill. He had been running in place now for just over half an hour. He recognized he was tiring, and soon would join the many on his ship in slumber, if only for a short while before he returned to his post. But for now, he continued to run, keeping his strength up and his emotions hidden, even from himself, and lost himself in thoughts of the future.

Thoughts moved through his head of the Max's next mission, and even beyond that, to the next shore leave. It had certainly been well earned, since he hadn't had a real leave from the ship since the refit, and even that had only been a few days. Before that, it had been before he had become Captain, just before the incident that had cost the Maximillian several crewmembers, including an Admiral and a Captain. He thought of the endless possibilities. Returning to Vulcan, visiting the worlds of Alpha Centuari, the ideas moved through Kelvok's brain quickly, and he allowed himself to disappear into the stream of consciousness moving through his mind.

As he expected, his blissful interlude, or as close to blissful as a Vulcan could get, was shattered by the insistent tone of the comm system, alerting him out of his thoughts and back into cold reality. As a Starfleet Captain, he was always on call, no matter if he was sitting in the command chair or not. He collected himself, shaking off the last vestiges of the future, and spoke aloud to the room.

"Kelvok here."

It was Nato, the communications officer, who had all but disappeared from the day-to-day operations of the ship, instead choosing to while away the last few days of his service on the late shift as he awaited his transfer home. His dry tones echoed outward. "Sir, we are receiving an automated distress signal...It's the lost pod."

Kelvok breathed a short, almost undetectable sigh of relief. He hated loose ends, and this particular one had been pestering him ever since he had recalled the escape pods that were sent out when it looked as if the Maximillian would be destroyed by a malevolent plant-creature. This was the only pod they had not been able to find. And now, a little over a month later, everything was coming full circle. He began to gather his uniform, and spoke once more to the comm.

"I am on my way."


	2. Chapter 2

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please visit maxwriters. pbwiki. com

The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

1

_"Captain's log. The Maximillian is approaching Cirrus Theta, a class-M world that we have little information on. There are no other ships in the area, and the inhabitants, the Cirrans, of which we know nothing, have the only claim on this planet. Still I feel like something is approaching, so I am wary of the coming encounter. And yet, it will be good to close this chapter of our adventure."_

"So, the pods just been sitting there for the last month?" Lieutenant Commander Critch Starblade was confused, trying to sort all the facts out and get them to make sense in his android brain.

"Correct, Commander." Kelvok nodded towards his first officer, Tamak, a fellow Vulcan who had of late been tied up heavily in classified documents and research. It was rumored throughout the ship that Tamak was answering directly to Admiral T'Kill himself. Tamak looked up as though unprepared, then smoothly segued into following his Captain's train of thought.

"When the pods were jettisoned, this one was empty, a backup in case of overflow or malfunction." Tamak began, glancing around the room as he spoke. "We don't know how it happened, but this pod managed to go completely off the preset coordinates, and ended up on a new course. Luckily, Cirrus Theta was in the pod's path, otherwise it would have never been found."

Security officer Skrit cleared his throat. "A little convenient that this planet happened to be in its path, don't you think?"

"You're chasing shadows." Jaydin shook her head, eager to wrap this up as soon as possible. She had a few experiments in sickbay of which she wanted to check the progress.

Skrit frowned. "Maybe, maybe not. But think of it, out of all of the trajectories it could have taken, ninety-nine percent of which would have sent it spinning out to space for the next thousand years, it managed to find the one that would land someplace detectable."

"I am willing to write it off as a coincidence and leave it at that." Tamak replied. "We've already put far too much time into this already."

"Yes." Kelvok agreed. "It is possible that the pod's malfunction hit upon a local star chart, and found the closest planet. Regardless..."

"Regardless, things just got a lot more complicated." Lieutenant Commander T'Purr Meowran walked into the room hurriedly, trailed by her assistant. The two Caitians took their seats, tossing a pad on the table. T'Purr, ordinarily the chief of Stellar Cartography, had been filling in for the science officer's spot recently. Because of this, the feline had been working on getting more information about the Cirrans out of the vast databanks of the Maximillian. Information she had just found.

"Complicated, Commander?" Tamak appraised her, emotionless as always.

T'Purr sighed. "The Cirrans aren't warp-capable, but only barely. They're an active, space-faring race, and have pretty much been all over their own system."

Kelvok nodded, already motioning for Tamak to head back to the bridge, before T'Purr stopped him. "Already taken care of, our signature's already been masked, and we'll be able to stay in the system a few days before we'll be detected, as long as we stay outside of their radar."

Kelvok dreaded the answer to his next question. "Have they recovered the pod?"

"Strangely enough...No. From what the scans are reading, they haven't come within five kilometers of it."

Kelvok paced the floor of the command meeting room, considering the implications of the statement, while Critch wondered aloud, "Is the pod leaking anything hazardous?"

"Nothing. It came down through the atmosphere, hit like a ton of bricks, and nobody's so much as looked at it."

"Populated area?" Jaydin wondered.

"Small town about 10 klicks off."

Skrit shook his head. "They couldn't have missed it. Would a made a hell of a fireball coming down."

Kelvok sat, and folded his hands together. "Then it appears we have a new problem. One that works to our advantage."

"Could just beam it up." Critch finished his thought, and looked rather proud of himself, until he glanced at T'Purr, who didn't look any happier about the situation. She sighed, and continued.

"Wait, it gets worse. The area around the planet is almost filled with electrical anomalies..."

Lieutenant Squirrley, who had been monitoring the discussion from Engineering while fixing up another of his special projects, completed the statement. "If we get close enough to beam anything through, I'll lay 50/50 odds that we'll lose the pod, and probably short out half of the systems on the ship."

"Great." Skrit put his head in his hands, but Kelvok did not look disturbed. "Well then...we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."

Critch thought he could detect a note of glee in his voice, and Jaydin gave him a cautious look. She asked, tentatively, "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

"If you're thinking of the Mark II, I am indeed."

"Captain, that thing's a death trap! It's like the worst designs of the last three centuries put together! Not to mention the other potential problems." Critch spoke quickly, adamantly.

"Problems?"

"I'm talking about 'Screw the prime directive, let's go off-roading!' We're gonna be ten klicks from them, a race that has no idea 'aliens' exist as far as we know, and we're gonna be racing around?"

"That is precisely why I need my Operations officer down there to navigate, to assure that we are not discovered."

"Now just wait a damn minute..."

"I would appreciate being able to leave my ship without having to shoot at anything, Commander. This would afford me that opportunity."

"Feel the wind in your hair?"

"...Something like that. Ourselves, an Ensign from Shuttle Ops to get us down there, and Ensign Soong-Maddox."

Critch rolled his eyes. "And the bit?"

"I do not believe it possible to separate them, do you?"

Critch remained silent; sighing a bit, while Lieutenant Commander Skrit spoke up, seizing the opportunity. "Instead of using a Shuttle pilot, why not let me take you guys down there?"

Kelvok shook his head. "There are far better uses for our chief of security than taxi service, Commander."

"Ah, but not just any shuttle. We can take the _R.S. Lyon_ for a test drive!"

Before Kelvok could answer either way, Tamak cut him off. "That won't be necessary, Commander. This mission is far too delicate..."

In turn, Skrit cut Tamak off right back. "Exactly why the _Lyon_ would be a good choice! It's armed with better weapons, and has a much better turning radius and top speed..."

"I have read your schematics, Commander, I was a chief Engineer in my time. However, your ship requires far more field testing before I can allow it to serve as a shuttle alternative, particularly if it is to be used for transporting the Captain."

"But..." Skrit attempted to protest further, but thought better of it with a glare from Jaydin. Kelvok, somewhat apologetically, looked at Skrit.

"Next time, Commander. Mr. Tamak, get us into a high orbit. Officers to their stations, away team to shuttle bay 4. Dismissed." The group, the command structure of the _Maximillian_ itself, stood in unison and moved out of the room, each to their assigned areas.

Skrit was still quietly fuming over not getting the chance to fly, in his eyes, the most well designed ship in it's class in the entire fleet, far outstripping the newly popular "Delta Flyer" Models for speed and maneuverability. He had worked on his designs for some time, receiving insight and suggestions from some of the most famous engineers and ship builders in the fleet, even getting a communiqué from Montgomery Scott recommending the type of materials to be put into the construction. Named after Admiral Lyon himself, Skrit saw the ship as a way to carry on his traditions of improvising and driving forward new technology ideas, such as including the Errsedorian technology brought forward by ADM Blobbin. This new technology had been used in weaponry and shields for the _Maximillian_ and other ships, which proved to be the Federation's savior on more than one occasion, including the battle against the Marconian Invader a few years before.

Regardless of Skrit's feelings, he went to his position, behind the First Officer, overseeing the bridge, as T'Purr sat in the Science Officer's position. At Operations sat one of the _Maximillian's_ newest officers, Ensign Mela, a Betazoid that had recently come aboard, and had joined in as an assistant to Critch, the chief of Operations. She had learned quickly the operations panel, and almost didn't have to be told what to do by Tamak as she eagerly hit the controls and began the ship's movement.

Down below, the strange mix of the away team had arrived at the shuttle bay at almost the exact moment that the _Maximillian_ had settled into its orbit high above the planet Cirrus Theta. Databit happily sat on Critch's shoulder, against Critch's wishes as usual, chatting energetically away with Ensign Overload, Critch's second in command in Operations. Kelvok followed them into the shuttle, hoping that their usual arguments and discussions wouldn't end up crashing the shuttle or revealing their position. The ensign pilot Bob, newly transferred from another ship, who settled into the driver's seat, followed the group. After a moment of the away team arranging themselves, Ensign Bob turned back to them.

"We ready to go, Captain?" They nodded, and Bob turned back around. "Seatbacks and Tray tables gentlemen." With a hit of a few buttons and the opening of the shuttle bay doors, the shuttle wafted into space, moving towards the planet below.

On the bridge of the _Maximillian_, First Officer Tamak sat down, watching the shuttle's path intently. A quick urge arose within the Vulcan to lock phasers and fire, destroying the shuttle and its occupants. He restrained himself, however, fortunately for the Captain and the rest of the away team, not to mention Tamak's future career. He worried about these feelings, as they were unlike him, and definitely nothing he would entertain in any way, shape, or form.

He didn't notice his own hand hitting a few panels on the command chair, didn't notice a message being sent, a message that was encrypted so as not to be detectable to the Max's own systems. And he didn't notice the contents of the message, reading a simple phrase.

"The game is on."


	3. Chapter 3

For more information and to purchase published works,

please visit maxwriters. pbwiki. com

The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

**2**

The shuttle descended through the atmosphere of Cirrus Theta quickly, but cautiously, it's pilot being very careful to stay within the parameters set into the systems so that the planet's inhabitants would not detect them. Ensign Robert Johnson tapped the controls nervously, drifting a bit too close to a satellite's radar system, before correcting himself, watchful for the eyes of Captain Kelvok, who always seemed to be there when he made a mistake. Fortunately, at least so far this journey, there had been no mistakes. The shuttle had left the _Maximillian_ without incident, had evaded the electrical disturbances in the area, and had made it through the heat shield with nary a scratch on the grey hull.

Lieutenant Commander Critch Starblade watched out the window, using his enhanced vision to look out for any disturbances there might be in the area, though the shuttle's computers were certainly up to the task. It just made him feel better to not trust any systems save for his own. Lieutenant Overload was enjoying the ride down, chatting with Databit about a new project he had recently undertaken, and Kelvok was simply sitting in the back, his eyes closed, calmly meditating, the cares of the physical world melting away until there was only his thoughts and himself, just the way he preferred it.

He was softly jarred out of his rest by the Ensign pilot. "Captain...we're approaching the designated coordinates." Pulling himself together, he rose, and walked quickly to the front of the shuttle.

"Were we detected?"

"No sir, I stuck to the flight plan exactly."

"Very good. Bring us into a landing position, and prepare the Argo. Get me Commander Tamak." From behind Kelvok, Critch shook his head.

"You're not serious about driving that thing around, are you?"

"Not at all, Commander. I believe Ensign Overload would be more than happy to drive us to the escape pod."

"But that...wait, HER?"

"It will give us a chance to talk about some things. And give her some much-needed practice on maneuverability. Give us a chance to, as they say, 'feel the wind through our hair'."

"If you say so." Critch groaned, unable to miss Overload's 100-watt grin, or her excited babbling to Databit about how he was going to get to man the shifting mechanism. Databit was already mulling over the possibilities of traveling at unsafe velocities.

The _Maximillian_ hung in space above the planet, silhouetted in blue by a nearby electrical storm. Skrit watched the storm with detached interest, his thoughts still hovering over being left on the ship, denied a rare opportunity to fly his ship through the perilous conditions, to truly test his construction skill and flying abilities. He shook it off, and tapped a few controls, monitoring the conditions on the planet, and the life signs of the travelers. He noticed that they had reached the surface, and a moment later, Ensign Kitana Xan, acting chief of Communications, called out to the bridge.

"Incoming hail from the surface, the shuttle has landed."

"Good, Ensign." Tamak stood, unconsciously tugging downward on his uniform shirt, a maneuver that had been repeated throughout the ships of Starfleet for many years, though they no longer rode up as they had in prior years. He glanced back at the controls of the Captain's chair, and then nodded toward Xan, who put the call on the speakers. "Captain?"

"We have arrived, Commander. Are the electrical disturbances still in the area?"

"They are. We have had to alter our orbit twice to avoid them."

There was a slight pause as Kelvok hid his disappointment. He had hoped to have the ship in position to beam them out if need be. It seemed that particular hope would have been in vain. "We will keep you appraised on our position, do not unnecessarily risk the ship should anything happen. Kelvok Out."

Commander Tamak nodded, and returned to his chair to wait it out, his eyes firmly on the planet and the surrounding clouds of electricity, which had seemingly become more numerous as time passed. Almost unconsciously, his hand tapped the keypad on his chair, plotting a course closer to the planet below.

The shuttle had been at rest for a few moments with no motion or sound coming from it. If there had been any by passers, they could not be blamed for believing that the shuttle had been there for much longer, and had been abandoned for many a passing day. They would have been very surprised to see the back bay door come open with a short 'shushing', and then an instant later when the Argo Mark II erupted out of the darkness of the rear holding bay. The Argo, not changed much from the initial design when it was successfully tested out on the Enterprise herself, was a 4x4 all-terrain vehicle, designed to mimic the ancient Earth-vehicles that had maneuvered the swamp areas and deserts of the time. The exterior was largely unarmored, as it was not intended to be used for combat purposes, though if it came to that, an array of armaments could be found, including a rear-mounted cannon, capable of shooting very low-yield torpedoes at any combatants.

Inside, the maneuvering wheel was accompanied by a roomy interior, with redesigned plating that made the seats a bit more comfortable than the original model. There were many places to store items, holders for weapons and the like, and hand holds for when the vehicle was going at high speeds. Which it certainly was now. Ensign Overload had almost immediately shifted the Argo into high gear upon its exit from the shuttle, and had quickly, after a short bout of practice with the steering, become an expert at the vehicle. The Argo rushed across the landscape, kicking up a cloud of dust and rock as it moved through the grass and sand that made up this area of the planet. The sand was not strange, but the outcroppings of grass and weed stood out, as though it had been recently planted. Critch glanced at his captain, who was obviously enjoying the ride far more than he was.

"You think the cloud we're kicking up will attract any attention?" Critch, clutching an overhead handhold, had to yell over the commotion of the Argo in its rush to the crashed pod. His face was full of worry and consternation, worry that they would be noticed, consternation at the joy that Overload had at risking all their lives for her bit of fun. Even the small Databit seemed to be enjoying himself, often as they went over a small bump raising his hands in the air, relishing in the small movement as though he was going down the tall hill of a roller coaster. Ensign Bob was trying not to be violently ill as the trip went on, but it was too fast becoming a losing battle. The only victory he would have now would be to not lose the morning's meal on his Captain. Kelvok had his eyes closed for a second before he realized that Critch had been addressing him, and his eyes fluttered to life, as he appeared to exhale slightly.

"There are frequent dust storms in this area, Commander. I doubt one more, even as unnatural as ours, will raise any suspicion." He shook his head, and leaned his head back, obviously at peace. He noticed that Critch was still ambivalent about the situation. "How would you have handled this, Commander?"

"Sir?"

"The situation, with the pod. What would you have done different?"

"I'm...not sure what you mean." Critch thought he was being led into a trap.

Kelvok leaned up, his rest forgotten, his voice steady as the ride went on. "Everyone has a different take on situations. Some would prefer that we moved the ship closer, to risk beaming up the pod. Others just to leave it be, and let the inhabitants think what they will whenever they become brave enough to investigate its origins. What do you think?"

Critch shook his head. "Well...I think coming down here was too much of a risk, especially with the Argo. Paints a pretty big target on our backs."

"So you would be in favor of forgetting the pod?"

"No. Too much information on the databanks. The prime directive still holds."

"Would you bring it back up to the ship?"

"Studying the electrical storms would have been a better option, maybe finding a way to get past them, maybe even dispersing them. If we weren't in such a blasted hurry, wouldn't have been a bad idea. And it's still risky to get the ship within beam-out range..."

"You've eliminated your options, Commander."

"Then we create new ones. The fact that the pod is there is sad, but just the pod can be explained by a lot of things. I'm sure their government could cover it up; other governments have all over the place. The main problem is the data on the computers themselves."

"How do you propose..." Critch was on a roll now.

"We hijack their satellites with our own systems, creating a daisy chain. They'll think it's an odd sunspot or interference or something. We use our link to send an energy surge right through their systems. We'd fry a few things, but I'm sure Squirrelly could rig it to fry the computers on the pod. When they find it, the computers will never be able to be recovered, at least until they're already aware of the Federation, and the most important thing is, we'll be long gone by the time that happens. Case closed, we're sipping Betazoid Daiquiri on the beach at Risa." Critch finished his scenario, obviously proud of his conclusion.

Kelvok let a hint of a smile fall across his face. "Yet you didn't bring this up before..."

"Kelvok, there hasn't been a race in the galaxy that can hide their feelings from these eyes." He tapped his finger against his left eye. "I saw your face when you talked about the Argo. Your eyebrows went up and your nostrils flared slightly, and your breathing increased. For a Vulcan, that's like you just lighting up."

Changing the subject hastily, Kelvok leaned back again, closing his eyes. "Regardless, for our sakes, I hope my decision fairs as well as yours may have." The Argo moved on, though it was now slowing down.

After noticing the speed drop several kilometers an hour, Kelvok moved up, turning towards Overload. "Road getting too rocky to drive?" Indeed, there was a great amount of desert rocks and sand jutting up in several places, effectively blocking the vehicle's path from advancing. After a moment, the Argo slowed to a halt, and Critch jumped out. "Looks like we have to hoof it from here."

"It's all right, Commander, we're well within a kilometer."

As Ensign Bob shakily got out of the Argo, losing his battle with his breakfast in the process, Kelvok glanced up at the sky as he tapped his communicator, a habit he had never been able to break. He knew he wouldn't be able to see the _Maximillian_, they were too far away, yet there they were, an unmistakable dark dot in the sky, like a daytime star, just not as bright. Kelvok frowned noticeably, and called up to his ship.

"Is everything all right, Captain?" There was a slight hint of boredom, as well as faint anger in Tamak's voice, unnoticeable to most, yet to Kelvok it was like a red flag going up. This was quite unlike him to bend orders like this. Tamak more than anyone knew the consequences of not obeying his superiors, since it had cost him his turn at the Captain's chair, several years before.

"Why have you moved the ship closer, Commander? Were my orders not clear?"

"They were clear, Captain, however, Commander Meowran is picking up some interesting readings near the crash site. In case you may require a beam out we..."

"I will not have the safety of the _Maximillian_ jeopardized because of what may or may not happen. It was made quite clear that a beam out would be too hazardous in the current conditions. We will deal with this upon my return. For now, return to your original position and await our return. We are nearing the pod now."

"Understood." The line went silent, and Tamak returned to his chair, but made no order or move to change the position of the Maximillian. It hung in its precarious orbit with a horrific electrical storm happening just off its starboard side. Skrit shook his head. Something wasn't fitting together in all of this.

"Commander, are you sure that we can't take down the _R.S. Lyon_ just in case? I've got a bad feeling..."

"The decision has been made." Tamak ended it with that statement, as T'Purr called over Skrit, defusing the situation.

"Skrit, what do you make of these signals?" As he glanced at the odd formation, she added in a lower voice, "Something's going on with him; he's been like this for the last few days."

"I know." He whispered back. "He's never been this standoffish."

"You're not the only one with a bad feeling, Skrit." She scratched her fur-covered ear absently, swishing her tail slowly, showing caution through her actions. Skrit shook his head.

"Nothing I can put my finger on. Where are these coming from?"

"That's just it. As far as I can tell, they're all around us. There's a large concentration on the planet's surface, but I can't pinpoint a location within a thousand kilometers."

Skrit frowned as he realized that Tamak was glaring at him, and had cleared his throat. Feeling much like a child caught passing notes in school, Skrit glanced back down at T'Purr. "Send it to Jaydin, she's been looking at a lot of signals lately." Then he slinked back to his station, attempting to look busy. The ruse worked, Tamak returned to his stare at the view screen, at the planet.

In sickbay, Jaydin received the file as a text, and glanced at it quickly. The small note from T'Purr brought her up to speed, and also informed her to avoid Tamak. Jaydin didn't need any reminders of that, considering the way he had acted lately, seemingly ever since she had returned from Bajor. She began to look at the signal, represented in code format as jagged lines of various colors, and broke it down, trying to find a pattern, or a similarity to anything else she had studied. She silently gave thanks that she had taken a few courses of code breaking as electives back at the academy.

As she stared at the screen, a small vine twisted in endless pause in a stasis tube, a souvenir from the adventure that almost cost them the _Maximillian_. It seemed to overlook sickbay, watching everything, seeing the frustration as a silent clock seemed to countdown, and the count was nearing its end.

The pod sat, remarkably intact, half dug into the ground from the hard impact after falling through the planet's atmosphere, through the heat shield, eventually encountering the unstoppable force of gravity, found itself lacking in the face of this adversity, crashing into the surface of Cirrus Theta with all the grace of a sperm whale. Its side had been ripped in places, and the away team could see the interior quite plainly. Kelvok stepped forward on the uneven ground, appraising the situation, assessing the damage even as he worked over how to return it to the _Maximillian_, or at worst destroy it without attracting the attention of the planet's inhabitants. Critch, Overload, and Ensign Bob stood behind him, Overload already scanning with her tricorder with Databit leaning against her head, acting tired from the excitement of the trip over. As she scanned the environment, she squinted, looking a bit confused.

"Is there a problem, Ensign?" Kelvok had noticed her consternation.

"Not really.... I can't understand these readings."

"Let me see." Critch glanced at the pad. "Weird. Almost like its being jammed. He tapped a few buttons.

Jaydin dragged a screen aside as she glanced at the vine in the glass, and suddenly, she came to a dark realization. In a panic, she hit her communicator.

"Tamak! Get them out of there!"

As Jaydin realized what the pattern was miles above them, Critch realized the same thing by clearing away the interference. "Ah, crap."

The pod seemed to disappear before their eyes, covered in rising sand and a tangle of green and brown. A deep growl erupted as a mass of vines moved up out of the ground, settling the problem about what to do with the pod, sending it into pieces and burying them deep. They moved with a mind and purpose, finally settling the bulk of the creature above the ground, resting on the sand, appraising its enemies.

The plant-creature advanced on the away team. Slowly, forceful, driven.


	4. Chapter 4

For more information and to purchase published works,

please visit maxwriters. pbwiki. com

The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

**3**

"GO! NOW!" Critch yelled after the initial shock wore off from seeing the emergence of one of the last things he ever expected or wanted to see again. The plant-creature that had already overrun and destroyed one planet, and nearly destroyed the _Maximillian_ itself before being repelled by Overload's clever mix of botanic and phaser technology, had found its way here, now, and from the sounds it was making, was not unaware of the past between its brethren and the away team. It was bracing itself, moving slowly towards the Captain, Critch, Overload and Ensign Bob, growling lightly, as if it was sizing up the threat posed by the team, almost remembering the weaponry it had faced before. They took this opportunity to begin a desperate run, turning as if one and moving in the opposite direction.

'DROID!" Overload yelled to Critch as he ran, Databit clinging to her neck, assessing the plant and wishing that the team had brought their weapons with them. "WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

"THE ARGO!" Kelvok, his face a picture of relative calm, answered for the android, moving as quickly as he could through the terrain, Ensign Bob behind him, fearful, stumbling through the sand and rock. Only the look of his Captain made him keep what little sanity he had, but he couldn't be blamed. Who could, considering he had just seen a giant creature, which by all rights shouldn't exist, erupt out of a calm landscape and begun moving towards him, with the obvious intent to remove him from this life! He hadn't seen the original creature, which although taking over most of the key systems of the ship, had stayed away from his sections and designated escape pods, something that he was quite thankful for.

Together, the four moved quickly over the landscape, such as it was, out of the crater created by the crashing escape pod and running as fast as they could back towards the Argo, dodging the multitudes of rocks and debris kicked up. A vine smashed down, narrowly missing Overload, but she deftly moved out of its way, her android hearing having heard the rush of wind signifying an incoming harmful object. She had already been way too up close and personal to the plant-creature, even having been swallowed, seeing it from the inside out. She had no desire to repeat the experience, even if she had another quantum torpedo launcher handy. Which unfortunately for the team, they didn't. All the conceivable weaponry, other than the cannon on the Argo, was back on the shuttle, miles away. At the moment, it felt like it might as well be on the other side of the moon for all the good it was doing them. Still they ran, determined not to end in a tangle of vines and teeth, as had one unlucky Ensign upon their first meeting with the creature. If no one else remembered the red-wearing cadet, surely the Ensign that ran with the away team now knew of him. Knew of their similar names, knew of their similar backgrounds, and knew of their now-quite-possible similar end.

They were nearly there, could see the Argo getting closer, their salvation seemed to be at hand. Critch allowed himself to think over the possibilities of what he would do upon his return. How best to research the return of the creature was a definite, and also making sure to come along on less away missions. More and more over the past few weeks his life had become more turbulent, and he wished for the return of the days where boredom and tweaking the operations department was his main focus. He felt he was due to come back to that any time now. He dodged nimbly to the right as a vine rushed between him and the ensign then watched as it curled back and attempted to trip him up, to catch him and drag him back to the waiting jaw of the creature. Not a way for him to die, not after all this.

"OVERLOAD, DRIVE!" She had nearly made it to the vehicle, and was about to reply to Critch's orders when everything went suddenly very wrong. The Argo lifted up in the air as though a great geyser had erupted beneath it, and Overload was struck in the chest, sending her flying backward and Databit in another direction. For anyone else that would have been a deathblow, or at least broken several bones. For the android, it was the equivalent of getting the wind knocked out of her. Critch slowed to a halt, and held up one fist, and Captain Kelvok and Ensign Bob stopped as well. It was a geyser of sorts, a green fount of vines, another creature making its presence known at the worst possible time. The one that had been chasing them was moving slowly, as though jockeying for position with the other, a silent communication ongoing between the two. Critch saw a small gap between them and knew there was no other choice. Shouting for the remainder of the team to follow, he ran as fast as he could, scooping up Databit on the way, who quickly climbed up on Critch's shoulder to search for his friend.

They very nearly didn't make it, only making it through the creature's tendrils by a whisker. Overload had seen what they had planned and had rushed around to meet them, and they were a complete team again, for the moment anyway. Overload was breathing heavy, though she obviously didn't need to, and asked the question on all of their minds. "Now what?"

The _Maximillian_ was no longer in a stationary orbit over the planet. Instead, Tamak had disregarded all orders from his Captain, instead choosing to do just the opposite. The ship was very close to the rapid moving energy storms, which were now seemingly attracted to the _Maximillian's_ sudden motions. As the ship swooped in and out, like a skier going down a hill, electricity surged out and struck the ship, causing a jolt and the lights to flicker, but no damage to the shielding. This didn't serve to lighten the mood of anyone within the ship, however, though Tamak seemed excited, as though things were proceeding exactly to plan, although T'Purr knew for a fact that this definitely wasn't a plan he was planning on sharing with anyone else. He had given the orders with a bark, and did almost all of the maneuvering through his console on the armrest. This put her at great unease, and her fur bristled as she thought about confronting him. Squirrelly, the ship's chief engineer had come to the bridge a moment ago to monitor the effects the storms were having on the ship as a whole. Being a six-foot squirrel was unique enough, but having come from a remote jungle on Betazed had gave him the same mental abilities that most of the planet's humanoids had: Not so much as to read minds, but enough to get a general feel of their emotions and thoughts, an empathy power that he had told few about, and it had served him well in this fleet. Right now, he could feel twinges of uncertainty from the crew, and a rising anger from T'Purr. Knowing a situation right now would be the last thing anyone needed, he calmly stood behind her.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

She turned with a surprised hiss, and her tail went stiff. Seeing that it was just he, she relaxed somewhat, yet was still slightly on edge. "This isn't right, Squirrel."

"I know, Cat, but we have to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Chain of command, and all that."

"The way he's going, I can't get a lock on the away team! We don't have any idea what's going on down there!"

Squirrelly sighed, and shook his head. "Got to trust in the Captain. He's got good people with him, what could go wrong?"

"We are so boned."

Critch, ever the master of understatement, watched as the plant creatures circled each other, and slowly began backing up, the rest of the team along with him, as a single vine, wrapped around the Argo, lifting it straight up into the sky. A moment too late Kelvok realized what was happening, and he said loudly to the away team, "GO. NOW." The team scattered, but it was too late. The vine curled back, and pitched a perfect strike. The Argo flew through the air at an unbelievable speed, and impacted exactly where the away team had gathered only a minute before.

Fortunately, Critch and Overload had saw what was coming, and pushed the others out of the way, rolling with them. They landed hard on the ground, and were pelted with shrapnel from the vehicle. Most of the shrapnel landed harmlessly, especially since two of the crew was able to withstand the attack. One rather large piece of shrapnel, however, was not harmless. Ensign Bob's leg was exposed to the fallout, and the sharp piece of metal, originally part of the construction holding the large rear cannon, drove itself right through his pant leg and flesh. Not surprisingly, the young ensign screamed with the sudden pain. Critch, having tried to shield Bob from the incoming strike, realized his mistake with chagrin, and grimaced. Although as he did so he realized that this gave him a new idea. He stood straight up, just as the shrapnel and metal stopped falling, and the plant-creatures began to move around them again. He motioned to Overload to scoop up Kelvok, which she did without a complaint from him, he having realized this would be a much better idea. Critch in turn cradled Ensign Bob in his arms, being careful not to disturb the injured leg, and together, they ran.

Now there were only two sets of legs, and due to the two Android's abilities, they were able to cover much more ground in a shorter amount of time. Critch, with the determined Ensign Bob, was quicker, but only just. Overload, holding on to Kelvok while Databit sat on his stomach trying to carry on a discussion about the plant-creature, was right behind him. Under different circumstances, Critch wouldn't have minded a discussion about the two different androids varying capabilities, that is one that didn't end with a "Superior", "Inferior" snipe back and forth, which unfortunately had occurred quite often since her appearance on the_ Maximillian._

With their android speed, estimated at about three times the normal foot speed of a bipedal humanoid, they were beginning to outpace the creatures, though not by much. Critch noticed he couldn't get going as fast as he would've liked, and it was becoming quite awkward for him to move freely due to Ensign Bob and his injured leg. Bob kept making little gasps of pain, and Critch knew that the pain was growing, and something would have to be done soon. Bob was more aware of this than anyone, and had come to the grim realization that Critch was too much of an officer to let anyone on his crew sacrifice himself, even if that was what had to be done. He didn't know why, knew very little about the circumstances that had made Critch who he was, but regardless, he knew what he would have to do. He looked at Critch, and simply stated, "Put me down."

Critch slowed. "What?"

"You can't go fast enough while you're holding me. You need to put me down."

Critch suddenly realized that he didn't know this Ensign's name, or had forgotten it in the heat of the chase. "Ensign, those things are coming right up on us! I'm not leaving you here to die!"

Bob knew that his remaining course of action was pointless, knew of the dangers, but it simply had to be done. "Let me try to beam back, see if it's safe. When I make it, I'll call down."

Exhasperated, Critch looked at the approaching creatures, looked down at Bob, and said, "Do it." Critch felt a strange emotion of dread for the young officer, who nodded and tapped his commbadge. Within seconds, in a sparkling blaze of blue, Ensign Bob faded from his arms, and Critch hoped he was going to a safer place. As the remainder of the team drew near, Critch caught Kelvok's frowning face, but no words were exchanged. And together, they began to run again, this time Critch outpacing Overload by a slightly larger margin.

On the bridge, Skrit looked up from his console excitedly. "Commander, incoming transport! It's the ensign!"

Squirrelly quickly made his way to a transporter room to assist with the transfer. None of them said what was on their minds, however. There was a very good reason why Captain Kelvok had not wanted the _Maximillian_ near the planet and the electrical storms. Now, the crew hoped as one that their Captain had been mistaken.

Squirrelly entered Transporter Room 3 with a feeling of dread, the same feeling he felt from the Lieutenant that was handling the controls, trying to successfully bring in the lone transport. Knowing that his fear would only add to the lieutenant's, he sucked in his feelings, and simply asked him in a straight and even voice what the status was.

"I've got him, sir, but these energy readings are off the scale!" This was exactly what Squirrelly was afraid of. The electrical storms could have an extreme effect on the readings and systems, and even he didn't know what the consequences could be. He began, with his large paws, tapping on the panels, trying to bring the energy back within the correct parameters.

The center pad alit with blue as the two engineers frantically worked, the Transporter chief and the head engineer using all of their knowledge, working together, and for a brief moment they thought they had succeeded, as they saw the vague outline of Ensign Bob appear. The transporter chief, admittedly young, even cracked a brief smile.

The smile did not last, as he looked up, and saw Ensign Bob's face, saw him in pain and anguish, and saw him mouth two distinct words. "Help me." Then there was a horrible sound, a devil's scream, and then the blue sparkles turned to gold, and Squirrelly quickly pushed the lieutenant away as the transporter panel sparked and exploded. Electric streaks surged out of the damaged panel, moving through invisible lines to the cables and wiring within the _Maximillian's_ walls. Within moments every light on the deck exploded in a hail of sparks and noise, and the entire ship shook. After that, it grew worse. Power levels dropped, and systems on unaffected decks were called upon to compensate. The surge spread through these systems, knocking down relays and in some extreme cases causing entire walls to explode outward. The damage to the recently repaired ship, while not as bad as had been done to it before, was still massive, and was only growing worse as the surge spread. Squirrelly quickly tapped his commbadge, praying that the communications were still up.

His prayers were answered less than a heartbeat later with Tamak's gruff voice asking, "What happened?"

"No time. Shut down all systems, there's a power surge that'll wipe out everything on the ship!"

"Understood." Squirrelly wasted no time in ordering the Transporter chief to manually assemble a team to assess the damage to the transporters, and began moving towards the bridge. As he moved, lights dimmed and turned off, and he found himself, along with the rest of the crew, in total darkness. A beat passed, and the electricity that had been flowing through the abundant channels open to it found it had nowhere else to go. On the saucer section, close to the front edge, a large explosion occurred with a vengeance, resulting in a jagged edge where it had been smooth only moments before.

On the bridge, the mood had gone from bad to worse. Tamak rubbed his forehead, as though wiping off sweat, and had ordered the power to come back on, knowing full well that it would take several hours for the _Maximillian_ to be back to full capacity, if all the damage had been ignored. With the damage, it would easily be days. As Squirrelly entered the bridge, Skrit looked as if he was mulling over something in his head. Tamak instantly ordered Squirrelly to assess the damage to his section. For now, the _Maximillian_ was dead in space, all power to movement and shields was lost and force fields were going offline all over. As Squirrelly set to work, he received a message on his panel, covertly sent by T'Purr as though they were still at the academy. The message read succinctly:

BEFORE POWER DOWN, JAYDIN SENT MESSAGE  
PLANT-CREATURES ON PLANET

CHASING AWAY TEAM  
LOST CONTACT WITH ARGO

NO CONTACT NOW

Squirrelly looked up, stricken. He knew what this meant, of course. The away team could not get back to the _Maximillian_. Without transportation, they could not escape the plant-creatures. He glanced over at Skrit, who was staring straight at Tamak. Then, Skrit turned quickly, and jogged to the turbolift, disappearing before Tamak could say a word, before anyone could stop him.

The phrase "Between a rock, and a hard place." had never seemed so real for Kelvok and his away team. They had been running for minutes, hoping against hope for contact with the Maximillian that Ensign Bob's risky gambit would have worked. Instead, there was nothing. It was enough of a miracle that the Max had realized that Bob wanted out, and that they were still close enough to be able to do anything about it. This still worried Kelvok, but obviously he had bigger problems. For the past minute, they had seen two directions available to them. A small village on the left, complete with buildings, houses, vehicles, all alien to him, but still obviously a civilization. On the right, a giant hill that seemed to erupt out of the ground at a 90-degree angle. It went straight up in the sky for several meters, and then leveled off into a flat plain. The hill was too high for any person to climb. Critch was in the lead, and up until now Kelvok had been quite satisfied to let him make the decisions on where to go. Now he felt a small fear, though he tried to quell it, that the decision would not be a good one, or at least not the one that Kelvok himself would make. If Critch decided to make for the village, it would likely be the end of it. It would probably save their lives, but at the cost of many others. The plant-creatures would rip it apart as if it was tissue paper.

But if Critch did the noble thing, make for the blocked pass; it would be the end for the away team. The decision was deceptively simple on the surface, just one way or the other. But to Kelvok's mind, and assuredly in the android's as well, it was a very complex test, possibly the final test of his character. Was he truly who he seemed to be, who he aspired to be. A leader.

In the end, it was done quickly and without question or comment. Critch simply turned towards the rock, resigning himself and the team to their fates, trusting in whatever higher power that controlled the fates of the universe to deliver them from their folly, or at least to make their ends as quick and painless as possible. Each one of them knew what this meant, from Kelvok down to little Databit. The end was at hand. Kelvok had wished to see the _Maximillian_ again, to uncover the mystery behind Tamak's strange actions, to see what kind of officers his crew, some of which he had championed forever since his inception as Captain, would become. Now it seemed not to be.

They reached the rock one by one, with the creatures gaining on them, slowing as well due to the increasingly rocky ground. It was buying the away team time, but time for what? Critch glanced up at the rock and noticed that after several meters it leveled off to a flat surface. A plan formed behind his eyes.

"DROID!" He yelled to Overload, who looked at him fearfully, both for her and for the team.

"Got an idea?"

"Maybe. Let Kelvok down. Sir, you're going to have to get on my back."

"Commander?"

"You'll see. Overload, do this." He made his fingers into a sort of claw form as Kelvok climbed on, Databit now resting more comfortably on Overload's shoulder. As she copied him, Critch then drove his fingers into the rock, grimacing a bit. It didn't exactly hurt, but it wasn't the best feeling in the world. He did it again, a little higher, and then drove his feet into the cliff face, one after the other. As the creatures drew closer, he brought a hand out, and did it again, higher and higher, beginning to climb straight up the un-climbable wall, Kelvok hanging on for his life, surprised at the ingenuity that was shown. He glanced down, seeing Overload struggling up the wall, but doing it, and together, they moved as one of the creatures reached the bottom of the cliff. It seemed confused only for an instant, and then seemed to copy the androids, driving vines deep within the wall. It tried to shake the wall, trying to force them down where it could easily reach them. The other creature came up against the wall, and after an instant, copied the first, but this time pulling itself up along the wall, slithering slightly, very slowly, but making progress nonetheless. The victory for the away team had been extremely short lived.

"Don't look down." Was all Critch said, which of course had the opposite effect on Overload, who quickly glanced behind them. Seeing the creatures had, expectedly, an adverse effect on her, who easily doubled her speed up the hill. Critch smiled, as it had worked out exactly as he intended. They matched speed, but the plant-creatures had worked out how best to climb, and they had increased their rate of climb as well, and it had begun a race with a potentially deadly ending. And this worried Critch, for when they got to the top of the hill, where were they going to go? He and Overload could run for days without needing to stop, but unless the _Maximillian_ could work out whatever problems they were having, they couldn't get away from the relentless pursuit of their old foe. As he reached the top, he sighed inwardly, and prepared to haul himself up and go into a straight out sprint, hopefully having an easier time of it than the creatures. He looked over the top, Overload almost there, and his eyes widened.

"Overload, DOWN!" They ducked as a great ship flew just over the top of their heads, holding on through the rush of wind. The ship turned around in a lazy angle, the creatures stopping their chase, watching the approach of their new enemy. The away team only looked for a second, then moved on top of the hill to see what was happening. They watched as the small ship, looking like a cross between a standard shuttle and the more streamlined "Delta Flyer", designed some time before for the Voyager while she was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The ship had two nacelles sleekly off to the side, and a sharply angled main compartment. And from the looks of things, she was loaded for bear. Through the windows they saw a solitary figure in the pilots seat grinning at them.

Lieutenant Commander Skrit and his custom ship, the R.S. Lyon, had entered the fray.

They watched as the ship targeted and began firing upon the creatures with specially oriented phasers. The creature it hit was obviously hurt, as it screeched and began flailing about wildly, and in the process lost its grip on the cliff face. It fell, waving its vines, crashing into the other creature, knocking it loose as well, and almost in slow motion the two smashed into the ground, and all was still.

"Somebody call for a weed killer?" Skrit, sounding immensely pleased with himself, called to the away team through the communications systems.

"I'm gonna kill something if you don't pick us up!" Critch called back, as Kelvok finally dropped to the ground.

"Keep your pantyhose on, I'm coming, I'm coming." Skrit began to rotate the ship again, and move back towards the cliff, in order to land.

As he neared his destination, he was nearly speared through when a vine erupted from the ground, rushing straight up in the sky, grazing the side of the ship, sending it flying out of control. The two plant-creatures had regained whatever form of consciousness they had before, and had now redoubled their efforts, launching a direct assault on the thing that had harmed them, as well as working to catch the away team. Instead of going around the cliff, they would simply go through it, which seemed to work much better than their earlier plan. In mere moments, the creatures had broken through the top of the cliff, and were moving towards the away team; even as the ship had swooped around, ready to make another pass.

Kelvok looked at the ship, realizing that this dance would probably go on a lot longer than anyone would like, and raised his hands. He made a cutting motion, and swiveled a hand around in a circle. He then turned to his team, and simply said, "Run." As they began a dead sprint towards the cliff, he hoped that Skrit would understand what he had meant.

With the two deadly plant-creatures hounding their every step, the away team leaped into the air, began to descend...and landed with varying grunts on the floor of the _R.S. Lyon_. Skrit had taken his captain's meaning, had swiveled around and opened up his back bay door allowing the away team a quick getaway. Without a word, he tapped the panels, and the door rushed shut, with the creatures safely outside. The ship moved away from the cliff, and began maneuvering to come around again.

Kelvok stood. "Excellent work, Commander."

"T'weren't nothin. Power's down on the Max, and we lost Ensign Bob."

"Understood." He glanced around, as Critch helped Overload to her feet. "This ship is impressive, Commander. It appears we may have been mistaken in our hesitation."

"Don't worry about it, we've got bigger problems right now. Sir, Commander Tamak put us way too close to those storms. We could have lost every system on the ship if the squirrel hadn't had them shut everything down!"

"I will deal with Commander Tamak. In the meantime, we must halt the advance of these creatures. Do you have any weaponry?"

Without a word, Skrit tapped a panel, and the walls slid open to reveal an impressive display of armaments, including the familiar sight of the infinity modulators, specially enhanced per Overload's recommendations. Critch whistled softly, then frowned.

"No Quantum launchers?"

Skrit shook his head. "Are you kidding? You weren't even supposed to use the last one we had!"

"Fine, fine" Critch grabbed an I-Mod, and threw it to Kelvok, who moved to a window. He then grabbed two more, and passed Overload, tossing her one.

"Saddle up."

"Lock and load!" She finished cheerily, a marked change from her earlier mood. Databit got down onto the weapon, and began to call out which way to aim, and how much to adjust for local conditions, as she positioned herself at a side window, which had come open with a small 'zoomph'. Critch sat in the co-pilot's seat, I-Mod ready in case the creatures were able to gain access to the ship. He nodded to Skrit, and the_ R.S. Lyon_ suddenly dove towards the planet's surface, towards the creatures.

The shots from Kelvok and Overload were true, and they were answered with vines waving in the air menacingly and sharp screeches. The ship was able to dodge the useless attacks, and as they fired down, the ship moved through the vines, firing its powerful weapons almost point blank into the creature's mouth. After one last mournful call, the creature died, collapsing to the earth. The other creature thought better of challenging its enemy, and dove deep into the ground, burrowing until it could no longer be seen. Critch looked up at Skrit.

"This thing got infra-red?"

"And she'll do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs." Skrit answered, tongue-in-cheek, and flipped a nearby switch. The green radar screen turned white and red, and it was obvious that the red signified the creature.

Kelvok came into the cockpit, frowning. "Commander, zoom out to maximum, if you please." Skrit did so dutifully as Critch looked up at him.

"Sensing something?"

Kelvok was silent as the screen confirmed his fears. The plant-creature that was left was not the lone one on this planet. There were more.

A lot more.

Answering the unasked question, Critch closed his eyes, slumping in the chair. "At least five hundred. Probably more." The mass of red spread throughout the ground of the planet's surface like a plague, completely underground, hidden until the trap had been complete. They were all headed towards one spot, and it had nothing to do with the ship.

"They wanted us to see this." Kelvok spoke to himself, almost a whisper, as he stared straight ahead, drowning out the useless laser fire from Overload in the rear.

Within heartbeats, the swarm of plant-creatures emerged from the ground within the village, without warning or reason. The savage vines grabbed townsfolk, innocent and guilty alike, throwing them, ripping them asunder and eating them whole. There had been several thousand people that existed within and just outside the borders of this village. Men, women, children, and another sex that served mainly as the lawmakers in this society. All treated with the same disrespect and contempt for life. All dead within moments.

It was far worse than Kelvok could have guessed, far worse than any of them had ever seen. They now knew what had happened to the original planet on which they had encountered the creatures. The plant creatures had seeded it and took control of every possible thing, until it became the dominant, the only life form capable of survival, changing the whole ecosystem. Kelvok clenched his fist, unable to hide his anger and nodded briskly to Skrit, who silently, painfully, set a course back to the _Maximillian_. Unable to do anything to help the village, unable to stop wishing that it was he instead of them.


	5. Chapter 5

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The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

To say that this was the worst thing that could possibly have happened seemed to be a gross understatement.

To begin with, the entire reason for coming to this planet in the first place had been nothing but an elaborate trap, designed and executed by a life form that until now had shown no signs of the type of intelligence that would be necessary to carry out such a plan. The malevolent plant-creatures seemed to have a sort of collective memory, carried down from generation to generation through the eggs and seedlings that bore their race. They remembered their earlier defeat, remembered how Critch, Overload, Databit, and to a lesser extent Kelvok had designed a weapon capable of eradicating the creatures. Unfortunately, the crew had believed this to be a one-time meeting; they had not changed any of their weaponry to account for the incredibly resilient lifeforms, save for the useful Infinity-Modulation phaser rifles. And since the I-Mods were not standard issue for away teams, they were unable to effectively combat the menace.

The ground of Cirrus Theta had been ripped asunder by multiple creatures, each one of a size that was almost unheard of throughout the Federation. Working as though they were one, the creatures had torn the village apart, killing everyone and everything that had lived there, some for generations. Thousands dead, the single biggest tragedy in the planet's history. After the destruction, the creatures had simply burrowed back into the ground. According to infrared scans, the creatures were now, much more slowly, making their way south, towards the largest city on that continent. It would take time, due to a large body of water in their way, but considering that phasers couldn't hurt them and their propensity for problem solving, why would a simple ocean stand in their way?

For the crew of the_ Maximillian_, despite their lost crewmember and the electrical damage, despite the psychological scarring of those that had to stand by and witness the destruction of the village, things had faired well. That was, until T'Purr had hit upon the idea of monitoring the planet's communication systems. Then they realized their problems were just beginning.

The _R.S. Lyon_ had never been designed for stealth. And one of the planet's television stations, while filming the creature's devastation, had caught sight of the ship. Before the government could get involved, denying the existence of what they considered extraterrestrial life forms, the image had been sent around the world. No one on Cirrus Theta knew what to think. Some had chosen to worship the ship, believing this to be their end of days and their gods had arrived. Others believed, and this had a small thread of truth, that the ship had brought the creatures that seemed to be right out of a bad monster movie. In the past few hours since the destruction of the village, riots had broken out all over the planet. Martial law had begun to be enforced throughout the land. It, to say the least, was a very bad time.

This was the situation that the command staff of the _U.S.S. Maximillian_ was faced with when they sat around the table in their meeting room, just off of the bridge. Along with the usual department heads, Overload and Databit were there as well, due to their history with developing technology to stop the creatures during the crews' earlier encounter. They sat, very serious, looking at each other, looking at Tamak, who seemed to have contributed to the situation far more than he should have, and waiting for their Captain to arrive.

Of all of them, Tamak seemed the most calm, which wasn't surprising due to his Vulcan heritage. And like the rest of the crew he knew that the consequences for his actions were sure to be dire. He had willfully and intentionally disobeyed a direct order, and his course of action had directly led to one crewmember's death, and severe damage to the _Maximillian_. These were not things to be taken lightly, and despite his not showing emotion, Kelvok had a way of making his feelings known regardless.

Critch glanced at Skrit, who was still wrestling with the sights he had seen. So many people gone just like that. He was shaking his head. Critch knew what he was going through, knew that in Skrit's head he was thinking it was his fault, that if he hadn't come down, or had tried a little harder, the village would have been saved, and the menace would have been destroyed. Skrit sighed heavily. Critch knew his thoughts because immediately after the Marconian Vessel's invasion he had felt the someway. Many ships had been destroyed in that battle, and if the information they had received had been correct, there had been a chance that in the worst case scenario that not only would Earth's sun been destroyed, but with it the entire universe. He had felt that it was all because of his actions, because of his very existence that things had turned out as they did, and it had taken him some time to come to grips with the fact that things sometimes happen randomly, for no reason at all, and they can be nobody's fault but fate and time itself. Because of this, Critch knew that no snide remark or joke would solve this. Only time would heal Skrit's mind.

Jaydin sat next to him, staring at the tiny vine from the original plant-creature, still held in stasis. While botany was certainly not her field, it was still amazing to her that such a tiny thing could grow in size so fast, and could become a creature of such enormous destructive ability. It certainly was not unheard of for plant life to show forms of intelligence, but the level at which these creatures planned and thought was off the scale. The very thought of what their next move could be was very unnerving.

The only conversation in the room, not surprisingly, was coming from Overload and Databit. The pint-sized android was obviously confused about Tamak's decisions earlier.

"But why would the Commander disobey the Captain's orders? I could never disobey an order from a superior officer."

"I don't know, 'bit." Overload frowned slightly, glancing up at Critch. "Droid, do you ever disobey orders?"

"All the time." Critch answered warily, mainly due to fatigue and quietly, as to not attract Tamak's attention. "Sometimes if the order doesn't make any sense, or I need to find out more, I'll bend a couple rules. Kinda like you."

Overload acted a bit insulted. "I would never do something like that!"

"How many times have I asked you not to call me 'Droid'?"

"But you are a droid!"

Databit nodded at him. "It is true, sir, you are an android."

Critch sighed. "Doesn't matter. Count the pips, kid. Superior means superior."

"Inferior!"

"Superior!"

Only a stern look from Jaydin kept that old argument from continuing any further.

T'Purr and Squirrelly were ignoring the android's ongoing debate. They sat silently mulling over the events of the day. At least T'Purr was. Noticing a strange look on Squirrelly's face, she prodded him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Been a while since the last time I had anything to eat. Need nuts, or acorns, or something. These things need to be catered, or have a buffet or something."

"How can you think about food at a time like this?"

"Oh, like you'd turn down a bowl of milk right now. First priority in a crisis is finding food and shelter. We've got the shelter, now I'd like the food."

"You're hopeless."

"Tell me about it."

The idle chitchat increased as time went on, until finally it was broken by the sudden arrival of Captain Kelvok, moving into the room with neither subtlety nor grace. Everyone knew what the first order of business was, and there was a heavy curtain of dread settling over the room as he moved towards Commander Tamak, who stood without shame, his eyes staring straight into Kelvok's.

"Captain."

"I will be brief, due to the current circumstances. Mr. Tamak, I believe you deliberately disobeyed my direct orders during the mission, actions that resulted in the death of a crewmember. Since our initial contact with the plant-creatures, your behavior has become increasingly erratic, and your performance has decreased to say the least. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"No sir."

"Then you are confined to quarters until we reach the nearest star base, where we will assemble a tribunal where you will stand trial for disobeying a superior officer, among other offenses. Commander Skrit, if you would accompany Mr. Tamak?"

"Aye." Skrit stood and led Commander Tamak, former Captain of the _Maximillian _and friend to many of the crew, out of the meeting room and down to his quarters. And just like that, the tense confrontation had ended. If he'd had time, Kelvok would have inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. But there were far more pressing matters to attend to now. He glanced down at the holographic representation of the planet, recessed into the table, and spoke.

"What do we know?"

"Not much, Captain. The _Maximillian_ is still damaged from the electrical surges, though I've got things pretty well isolated." Squirrelly seemed proud of this fact. "I wouldn't recommend top speed anytime soon, but I can give you full impulse, and Warp in a few hours."

"And Cirrus Theta?"

T'Purr shook her head. "We've been running scans ever since you got back. The planet is swarming with the plant-creatures. Two more towns have been lost in the last hour."

"We couldn't detect them before we landed?"

Jaydin piped in. "Nobody was expecting them to show up anywhere else, let alone here. We hadn't even loaded their profile in the system yet."

"Where are they now?"

Critch tapped at the table display, and instead of the rolling landscapes that had been displayed, a simple globe of the entire planet now floated before them, pristine. This only lasted a beat, before another panel was tapped, and a deep red covered the interior of the globe, spreading outwards, on many occasions breaching the planet entirely. He looked up at Kelvok.

"Where aren't they?"

Kelvok nodded slowly, sinking into his chair with far more desperation than he had intended. His crew didn't pick up on it, or if they had nothing was made of it, so he continued. "The Infinity Modulators were ineffective?"

"Pretty much." Overload said sadly. "The plants were too big."

Databit continued for her. "Commander Skrit's vessel was powerful enough to kill one of the creatures, however the total firepower was insufficient to eliminate all of them."

Skrit had reentered the room just as the android had finished his comment, and he added one of his own as he sat back in his seat. "Captain, no three ships would have enough firepower to completely destroy them all."

Critch folded his hands. "And if we can't destroy them all at once, then there's no point. They'll just keep multiplying again, until..."

Kelvok finished for him. "Until they have taken the entire planet. Just as they did the one before." He stood again, unconsciously nervous, moving to the window, where he could see an unblemished and pure looking Cirrus Theta, instead of the infected representation hovering on the table. It was quiet for a moment, before a whispered conversation grew louder between Overload and her diminutive friend. It actually appeared to be more of an argument than a conversation, a rarity for the two, who seemed inseparable any other time.

"No, 'Bit!"

"Our duty is to assist the captain, Overload. This would be an opportune time to share this information."

"But you can't say that! You can't even think that!"

"Think what, Mr. Databit?" Kelvok decided to break this up early.

Overload shook her head furiously at Databit, and he paused, worried about her reaction, worried about the rest of his friends' reactions. But duty overrode his qualms, and he spoke.

"I believe I have a suggestion which could remedy the current situation."

"Databit...no." Overload gave one last weak protest, but it was too late.

"We could amplify the damage done by the _Maximillian _by incorporating Overload's modifications into the quantum torpedoes. A torpedo fired at precisely the right location and velocity would ignite the oxygen in the atmosphere. The resulting damage to the creatures would be two-fold. First, the immense fire would instantly eliminate any creature above the planet's surface, and second poison would spread across the planet along with the fire, contaminating the soil and inorganic life. The surface of the planet would be uninhabitable for several thousand years. Attempting to leave the relative safety of the planet's interior would effectively be suicide!"

There was a heavy silence upon the room. Kelvok turned from Databit, staring long and hard at the planet below. Skrit could not hold in the silence, having seen what he had seen.

"You're talking about destroying the entire planet! Everyone, the towns, the people..."

"It is regrettable, however the creatures have showed great intelligence in getting this far from their original location. It is quite likely that they will do so again."

Skrit was perplexed by this attempt at logic. "You don't know that for sure! You're willing to wipe out an entire race based on 'quite likely'? That's not good enough!"

As the rest of the crew, somewhat aghast at the horror of the suggestion, watched the argument between the energy being and the action-figure sized android, Jaydin yelled loudly, "QUIET!" The volume of the yell acted as cold water on the two as she followed up. "I seriously doubt that the captain would approve that." She looked at Kelvok, still staring at the planet. "Would he?"

It took a moment of silence for Kelvok to awaken from his daze, staring at the planet, a million different thoughts and plans on his mind. Above all else, one phrase, a uniquely Vulcan axiom, 'The needs of the many outweigh the few.' He turned slowly.

"It is, unfortunately, an option, but not our first one. Regardless, combat with the creatures is no longer an option. We neither have the means nor the method to fight an effective war that would result in both the creatures' destruction and the planet's salvation. We must find out how much time we have, and we must attempt an evacuation before Cirrus Theta descends into chaos."

Critch rubbed his forehead. "Sorry, sir, that time came and went. Computer, show current broadcasts on Cirrus Theta."

The globe dissipated, and was replaced with various shots of news and other programming, all concerning the strange ship in the sky, and the destructive creatures. If Kelvok thought it couldn't get any worse, he was sorely mistaken. Ships of all sorts were beginning to launch, and soon the skies would be full of shuttles and other craft, escaping the impending doom before it was too late for them, as they had already guessed it was too late for Cirrus Theta.

Through the shots of the ship that had been captured earlier, and the live updates regarding the current location of the creature, Kelvok focused on the Cirrans themselves, the images of their poor, their dying, those without the resources to escape the death of their world. He watched the ships carrying the fortunate away; so desperate to escape that they leave without a destination in mind. Going to their deaths, desperate for a miracle. He closed his eyes slowly, and then opened them.

"Then it has come to this. Commander Meowran, find a way to communicate with the Cirran leader."

"Sir?"

"They have a world government, they are ready for first contact. The populace must be evacuated."

Critch shook his head. "There's millions of people...we'd never get them all in time."

"I will ask Admiral T'Kill for assistance, I am sure he will send reinforcements. In the meantime, all shuttles will be outfitted with weaponry to destroy the creatures."

Jaydin sat back in her chair. "Will that buy us enough time?"

"Doubtful." Kelvok was sadly honest. "The scans showed too many of the creatures burrowing through the planet, If they sense what we are planning, they will attempt to regain control, most likely, by all of them coming to the surface at once. At that point, we will have to use any means necessary to keep this situation contained."

Skrit frowned. "I don't like this."

Critch followed up. "What's to like?"

"Operations and Engineering begin assembling torpedoes with Databit's designs." Databit looked triumphant, but Overload gave him a wary look. "Are there any other suggestions?" Kelvok hoped that there was something he had overlooked, that his gut instinct was wrong. He couldn't shake the feeling, as he dismissed the crew to begin their desperate duty, that this was all just a prelude to a much larger disaster.

And the beginning would be the destruction of the planet below.

"_Captain's log, supplemental. I have been in contact with Admirals T'Kill and Blobbin, who have assured me several vessels are being sent to assist in the unavoidable evacuation. They are en route, and should be here in within two days. Well within the time that Commander Meowran has given me, though her calculations continue to be inexact at this early stage. In addition, due to the...situation with Commander Tamak I have Lieutenant Commander Starblade acting as my First Officer. Together with the Science and Operations departments, he has arranged a meeting with the leader of the planet, Minister Scarow. It is, as Mr. Starblade would say, 'about time things start going right around here.' We can only hope our good luck endures the coming days. End entry._

The meeting with the Minister of the planet was easier said than done. There was a matter of logistics, fine tuning the universal translators to make sure every point was clearly made, figuring out where and when to hold it, and stressing the point that it was vitally important that this take place as soon as possible. There was tension in the original conversations because half the planet believed that the "strange ship" had brought the creatures with them. Critch could tell this was going to be an issue in the meeting. As he confirmed the appointment, he sent it off quickly to Captain Kelvok via his new yeoman, Ensign Mela, who smiled at him as she walked quickly to his ready room, where he had sat planning ever since the Command Staff meeting had ended.

Critch glanced over at a sudden giggling, and noticed Overload and T'Purr looking at him. Databit was sitting on the seat next to Critch, obviously still not having patched things up with his friend.

"What?"

"She digs you, droid!" Overload beamed, the strife temporarily forgotten.

"Who? The Yeoman?"

"She's a Betazoid, so be careful what you think around her." T'Purr teased. Critch rolled his eyes.

"First of all, Betazoids can't read android emotions. And second of all, this is neither the time nor the place. Last but not least, I'm not exactly made for relationships, you know."

Databit looked up at Critch. "This would be the perfect opportunity for you to attempt to learn about the mating rituals of non-android life forms! I have been researching this subject extensively recently, and I have found..." He was cut off as Critch picked him up by the collar of his miniature uniform and tossed him to Overload, who caught him gently.

"Would you two patch things up so he'll leave me alone? I'm acting first officer over here, remember? Really important stuff to do!"

Overload tenderly hugged the diminutive android and he returned her affection with a tiny hug of his own, the friction between them forgotten, Overload didn't stop grinning as she kept teasing Critch. "What are you made for?"

Critch stopped, and banged his head lightly on the desk. Then he stopped and looked back at the others. "Spy. Incredibly sophisticated recording device. Superior android!"

"You'll never know unless you try." As T'Purr concluded the attempted matchmaking, Critch's android hearing picked up a very small noise from Overload, which he chose to ignore, knowing that an argument was better avoided at the present time.

"Inferior!"

Kelvok, Critch, Jaydin, and Skrit all beamed into the atrium of the Horran Thebiam, the central building of the Cirran government. They were met immediately by Minister Scarow, a very old masculine member of the species that had survived several changes of government throughout his considerably long life. But nothing he or anyone on his planet experienced could compare to what he was witnessing now. The word disaster kept popping into Critch's head as they approached Scarow and his aides. They had spent some time practicing the customary greetings and manner of speech of the Cirrans, but considering the current circumstances, things like that probably wouldn't be the deal breaker they usually would be in a normal first contact situation. Two aides, obviously fairly important from their large headdresses and style of clothes, flanked Scarow. As one, the four officers raised both hands in the air, palms facing the minister, and he and his aides did the same, an ancient greeting ritual meant to signify that all weapons were laid down and the talk was to be a peaceful one. Critch hoped for his sake that it truly was.

Scarow began, slowly, too slowly for Skrit's sake, who was already anxious to put as much distance between he and the infested planet as possible. "My aides tell me you are of a different world than we. From the way you look, I am inclined to believe. Why have you come now, of all times?" There was a silent accusation in the air.

Kelvok answered, just as slowly, letting the minister set the pace for the discussion, letting him believe he was in control, when in fact no one was. "I am Captain Kelvok of the Federation Starship _Maximillian_. We have come here to attempt to solve our mutual problem."

"It is a rather large coincidence that you appear now, in this time of crisis. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that we have seen your ship near the first appearance. My people demand answers!"

"Answers will come in time, minister, I'm afraid we do not have a lot of them ourselves. What we know now, is that there are quite a few of these creatures buried within your planet. We do have weaponry to combat them, but not in the quantities required to completely eradicate them."

"I see." There was a quick silent look between the minister and his aides. "What is your suggestion, since you have come all this way?"

"In order to save your people, minister, a planet wide evacuation must begin as soon as possible?"

Scarow stopped, and stared at the Vulcan, unaware of the heritage of Kelvok's race. "An evacuation of an entire planet? For what purpose and goal? You speak coldly of this. Too coldly to be believed, I think."

"Minister Scarow, I am of the Vulcan race. We do not show emotion, nor are we capable of lying.'

"So you say."

"The planet is already overrun; soon there will be an assault on the remaining major cities. We cannot fight so many. Your populace has vessels, and we have space on our ships..."

"You come here with easy answers to our sudden problems, problems that did not exist before your arrival. You show no proof of your intentions. How are we to know what you are saying is the truth?"

Critch was getting tired of this. His nature was not to be patient, after all. "Captain, if I may?"

Eager for a fresh voice, as his was beginning to crack of withholding the fury he felt towards the accusations, Kelvok nodded, and Critch stepped forward. Scarow appraised the new voice.

"And you are?"

"Critch, first officer, look, time to dispense with the pleasantries. You want proof, I'm sure the Captain will let you peruse the records on these things."

"How can we know this 'proof' is not manufactured?"

"Because we've been way too busy since we nearly had our ship destroyed by this thing. You want the cliff notes? Fine. Roundabout a month ago we got a distress signal from a forest planet. Come to find out the planet's alive, and near as we can figure, these things were responsible for the signal. They snuck on board via shuttle, and managed to nearly take over before we found a way to stop them. We launched our escape pods, and recovered all but one. The one, apparently, had a seedling stowaway, which made its way here."

"So you admit you are responsible for its presence!"

"Only if inadvertently providing the tools for it to make its way here counts as responsibility, minister." Skrit and Jaydin watched silently as Critch tried his forceful tactics, ones that had a way of convincing some people, infuriating others. They hoped now that this was not the latter.

"How do you mean?"

"The pod they came here on was programmed en route, which means that these things have some kind of intelligence that we can't even measure."

"Plants with intelligence?"

"Go out in space sometime, you'll see lots of things you can't explain. Minister, as much as I'd like to gab all day, here's the bottom line. This has nothing to do with your planet or your people." Kelvok and the minister both looked at him surprisingly.

"This is supposed to convince me to have my people evacuate?"

"No, the fact that you've got five hundred hungry giant plants about to take over your planet should do the trick. Minister, you've got some options here. Number one, you let us help you, get as many people off as possible, and then we weigh our military options, with your full power to yeah or nay anything we do. It's your planet, after all. Number two, you decline, and we have to start shooting down anything that leaves your airspace."

"What?"

"These things can get into small spaces and lay their eggs or seeds very easily. If they're intelligent, they can hide them so nobody knows they're there until it's too late. This has to end here; I'm not willing to risk any other planets because you're a proud race. Make a good decision."

"You...You are impertinent! Do you understand whom you are speaking with? I am the minister of this planet! I am..."

"And if you don't listen, you're going to be a dead minister of an alien forest of giant plant creatures." This finally stopped Scarow, who glanced at his aides, who looked frightened. He sighed heavily, his age showing, and he looked back at Kelvok, who stood now at Critch's side.

"What must I do?"

Critch breathed a silent thanks to the air, as Kelvok nodded. "Commanders Starblade and Skrit will assist you with the planning. We have several ships en route to assist. I recommend addressing your people, minister. This will be very hard on them." As Scarow nodded, Kelvok turned to Jaydin, who had a stricken look on her face.

"Commander?"

"Kelvok, T'purr finished her simulations." Without any more words, she handed him a pad. He looked at it, and nearly dropped it.

The pad showed a horrible future for Cirrus Theta. The lifespan of the cities and the civilization could now be measured in hours, not days. The plant-creatures were starting to move towards the surface, their attacks were increasing, and they were breeding. The appearance of the _Maximillian_ had only been the catalyst for their assault, and now, no manner of evacuation or action could halt their advance towards the cities, and the ships that would carry them off world and start this nightmare all over again.

No action, Kelvok knew, except one, and his thoughts grew dark indeed.

One phrase repeated in his mind, almost a dull roar.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.


	6. Chapter 6

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The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

The world was coming to an end. A different planet, a different apocalypse, but the same result. And it was no surprise that there was some resistance to the evacuation order, once it was finally handed down from Minister Scarow. Millions took to the streets in protest, insisting that the aliens had an ulterior motive in taking them away from the only home they had ever known, still accusing them of bringing the plant-creatures here in the first place. Ample proof had been provided and disseminated through the media, direct from the _Maximillian's_ databanks and verified by independent scientists and wise men from Cirrus Theta, but this did not convince many nor calm them. It may have been irrational for this to be the time, when order was needed, for the populace to protest, riot and loot, but it was being done nonetheless.

Out of concern for their safety, not so much from the creatures but from the general population, Captain Kelvok had ordered all officers to remain on board the_ Maximillian,_ save for a precious few shuttle pilots, including Lieutenant Commander Skrit, whose services with the R.S. Lyon were now quite welcome. For the better part of the day, the shuttles and ships had run from the Maximillian to the surface and back again, ferrying as many people on board as the mighty vessel could safely hold. Fortunately, the flagship of Admiral Blobbin had recently arrived, along with a dozen other ships, all ready to take on passengers. In addition to the refugees on the Federation vessels, ships of all shapes and sizes, as long as they were space worthy, were allowed to leave the surface and fly alongside the convoy. They would all be relocated to a new home of suitable conditions where they would start over again, this time with Federation assistance. They had to be scanned for any trace of the creatures' presence, but as of yet, through hundreds of ships, no seedlings or eggs had been found. Kelvok was still suspicious, not trusting in the scans at all. After all, when the creature had been on the _Maximillian,_ they had not discovered it until it was too late. Knowing how little they know why would now be any different.

With the arrival of the ships, Admiral T'Kill and Admiral Blobbin transferred their respective banners to the _Maximillian_. The Romulan and the Errsedorian both had served for many years on ships named _Maximillian_, both under Admiral Lyon and later leading her themselves. In recent times, at least since the Marconian invasion that had cost Admiral Lyon his life in a heroic effort, neither of them had spent much time on board the ship they considered home, and both were eager to change that. Though better conditions were surely hoped for.

T'Kill was a proud Romulan/Human hybrid; gruff and straight to the point in all things, though there was a strange sense of humor that leaked out at times. Blobbin was an Errsedorian, a mercury-based blob of a being from a completely different universe. With no real body parts to speak of, he mainly moved by pudging, or rolling across the floor. He was fun-loving to a fault, and loved to antagonize his friends, especially T'Kill. Truly a stranger pair of friends had never been seen in all the fleet.

T'Kill was fairly by-the-book in most instances, and Kelvok wondered how he might react if he came across Overload and Databit. Overload the android was extremely unorthodox in just about everything she did, including the non-standard way she wore her uniform (Complete with pink skirt) and her insistence of having the tiny Databit around her at all times. But, he figured that T'Kill knew about her when he approved the request to have her come aboard the _Maximillian_, so he set that worry aside. There were far more important things to worry about at the moment.

As it happened, he didn't need to worry, as the two androids were busy working on the weapons that it had been hoped they would not have to use. So it was that Kelvok met with T'Kill and Blobbin in his ready room, the windows providing a scenic view of the planet below. T'Kill nodded towards Kelvok, who still stood staring at Cirrus Theta. Blobbin pudged in after him, dressed in one of his favorite outfits, an extremely accurate Roman Centurion uniform, complete with breastplate and helmet. Kelvok had expected such an outfit from the shape shifter, and said nothing. Blobbin smiled largely and greeted him with a drawn-salute.

"Cap'n!"

"Admirals." T'Kill crossed to the window, trying to make out any sign of the creatures below. From this distance, however, he could see nothing. T'Kill stepped back, grimacing.

"Are you _sure_ that your scans are correct?"

Kelvok simply nodded. "We have cross-checked them with the Cirran's own equipment. They are correct."

"How many people have gotten out?" Blobbin took a serious tone, at least as serious as he could get.

"At last count, three-hundred-fifty-seven-thousand-forty-two. But that is not including..."

Not wanting to hear a long-winded explanation, Blobbin cut him off. "Any of those plant things make it off the planet?"

"No signs have been detected on any of the Cirran's vessels...but..."

"But nothing was detected on the _Maximillian_ either." T'Kill finished for him; as Blobbin crossed to the window, stretching himself out so he could see. He formed a pair of opera glasses out of an outstretched arm and looked down.

"Quiet down there...too quiet." A Sherlock Holmes hat replaced the Roman helmet on Blobbin's head, and a pipe suddenly appeared from his mouth. "I suspect treachery!"

Kelvok nodded. "We are dealing, however fantastic it may seem, with intelligent life. They are undoubtedly assembling a plan of attack. Remaining on Cirrus Theta will not further their goals."

"And what exactly are these goals?" T'Kill appraised Captain Kelvok with interest."

"It is merely a hypothesis."

"Out with it." The Romulan was in no mood to pussyfoot around.

"I believe that the plant-creatures were originally seeded on the original planet for no other purpose than to attract our attention. There was no civilization capable of sending the original distress call, no technology present at all. Their original goal was to gain access to the _Maximillian_, taking it completely over and using it to seed itself across the Federation. Once that goal failed, they immediately began to overcome another planet, and retry their original mission. In the chaos of the world's end, they would easily be able to find transport off world."

It was silent as Kelvok finished, and Blobbin tossed his hat to the ground. "I thought I was going to be the detective this time!" Ignoring him, as usual, T'Kill gazed back at the planet.

"Seeded? As in somebody put the creatures there?" T'Kill asked, incredulously.

"That is my belief, Admiral."

"If you're right, then we're at war."

"Yes, sir."

It was silent again for a beat, and a short beep came through the comm system.

"Admiral Blobbin?"

"That's me!" He stated, bouncing as he spoke.

"The electrical disturbances have dissipated, and we are preparing to beam the refugees aboard the _Julius II._"

"Aye Aye! Scan 'em before you bring 'em up; make sure they don't have any tagalongs. Pack her to the gills, Lieutenant!"

"Yes, Sir!" Even with the stress of the situation, the usual jovial sound of Admiral Blobbin rarely failed to infect whomever he spoke to. He turned his head around, back toward Kelvok and T'Kill.

"I'd better get back there, damn kids never know what they're doing." He bowed, and stretched out of the room slowly. Kelvok and T'Kill were alone.

"Well done on the first contact, by the way."

"All compliments should be shared with Lieutenant Commander Starblade, as it was he who convinced Minister Scarow."

T'Kill regained his grimace at the mention of Critch. "The spy?"

"As I have told you repeatedly, there is no evidence of any treason nor treachery by his actions. He has been an upstanding officer ever since the Marconian incident."

"By his own words, he says he may be recording everything he sees and does. He claims to not know what the limits of his own functions are. I simply cannot trust his intentions are for the good of the Federation."

Kelvok nodded. "But you did not keep him out of the chain of command, indeed raised no objections when I named him my first officer, nor any objections when I suggested him for a Command."

"Once Tamak settles down he'll be able to take his position back, and I don't see any Command positions opening up anytime soon."

Kelvok turned back to the planet then, appearing to sigh, which was quickly dismissed as impossible by T'Kill. The Admiral guessed Kelvok's thoughts correctly. "You won't have to do it, Kelvok."

"And if I make that decision?"

"I can't say which way the council will go. I will trust your judgment, however."

Kelvok just looked down to Cirrus Theta, where all his possible futures lay. He stared in silence for several minutes before he realized that Admiral T'Kill had taken his leave of him. He knew that the Admiral was now inspecting the ship, and wondered about a great many things. But he knew the answers that he sought couldn't be found on the _Maximillian_. No, he ascertained that the best place to make any more decisions would be on the one place that he had ordered his crew not to go. He turned quickly and moved out the door, to the turbolift, to his personal craft, to the planet.

In the accustomed-to blaze of blue, Lieutenant Commander Critch Starblade appeared, garnishing the now-standard modified I-Mod phaser rifle, specially outfitted to repel and destroy the creatures. He breathed in the now smoky air, caused by fires spread from the nearby village of Sirral. Looters escaping from other towns destroyed by the creatures had raided the village. Now all was quiet, though Critch knew it was only a matter of time before this mass of buildings were destroyed much like the others. It was not about the death of the planet's inhabitants, but a psychological attack on the minds of the citizens. Showing them how every piece of property would be eradicated whether anyone was there or not. This of course, had the desired effect, causing more panic than ever before. But here there were no creatures, no death, just smoke billowing up into the atmosphere from unseen fires burning deep within crumbling structures. A darkly beautiful scene, worthy of poems and song, if not for the stigma of death and destruction attached to it. This is where Critch found his Captain, sitting on a rock, just gazing upon the scene. Critch approached, and after a moment, cleared his throat.

Kelvok turned his upper torso to face him, and nodded. "Commander."

Critch's look was stern. "It's not safe here, Captain."

"Ah, but where is it safe anymore? Sit here, Commander, and watch."

He was very confused, but he took the seat anyway. After a moment, boredom set in, and memories of just what he was doing here in the first place. "Sir, what are you doing down here?"

"It truly is beautiful, Commander. The way the smoke blends with the night sky, how the stars shine down like the whole universe is unaware of what has happened. It is peace in a sea of storms."

"Captain..."

"When you are Captain, Critch, you learn to take advantage of whatever pockets of tranquility you can find, because they are the most beautiful things in existence, and they rarely last." Kelvok grew silent, and Critch looked again at the scene, listened quietly at the far off crackling, and even farther off the distant growls of the creatures themselves.

As if he had never finished, Kelvok began again. "I wish to ask you another question, Critch." Unaccustomed to his captain referring to him by his name, Critch simply nodded. "Imagine you had the power to save a galaxy, perhaps more than that. But for that to happen, you had to commit an act, a terrible act, and one that goes against everything you have ever stood for. What would you do?"

Critch thought for a moment. "Depends on the act."

"Murder. A life to save lives."

"I couldn't do that."

"You don't believe in the 'no-win' scenario?"

"I wouldn't say that, but I would exhaust every opportunity I had available before I let it come to that."

"Interesting. If I may ask, how did you complete the Kobyashi Maru test at the academy?"

"Didn't go so well. Got two of the ships, ran out of weapons and shields. Ended up ramming the last one."

"But the ship was saved?"

"More or less."

"So you would sacrifice yourself before taking an option that would result in innocent death. Interesting."

"I figured I would've survived. Anyway, we're in this to save lives, aren't we?"

"True. I believed much the same as you at the beginning of my career. Maybe not as eager to sacrifice myself, but..."

"Only if there was no other way, I'm not aiming to be another Data."

"You have more in common with him then you know."

"Not sure if I should take that as a compliment." Critch's feelings about the Soongian android were well known, occasionally manifesting themselves against Overload and Databit, Soongian themselves, though of vastly different size and design.

Kelvok brushed it off. "You should. Data's command abilities, and more importantly his friendship with his shipmates, despite he being so different from them illustrate the point I am trying to make, Critch. You are unique, as unique as any lifeform I've ever met. I consider you a friend. This universe is full of incredible forms of life. Our ship is a perfect example of the menagerie that lies before us. Did you know that there is a fox species similar to Lieutenant Squirrley's race? We are due soon to have one of them come aboard."

"More furs, fantastic." Critch's sarcasm was also well known.

"It truly is." Lost in his words, Kelvok didn't even notice. "What this all comes down to is that this uniqueness and individuality must be protected, by any means necessary."

"OK, I think you might've hit the Raktajino a bit too early, Kelvok."

'Are you familiar with the Vulcan Axiom?"

Critch sighed. This was hardly the time for a philosophical discussion. "There's only a few hundred."

"The main one. I believe in it, have come to believe in it above all else. The needs of the many, outweigh the few."

"Or the one."

"Yes, or the one."

"So that's it, what life is all about? Simple numbers."

"Logic dictates no less."

"Logic doesn't 'dictate' life, Kelvok. You're standing here talking to a talking computer, while giant plant monsters are eating people, and I'm waiting for a humanoid Squirrel to make a perfect copy of me that has all of my thoughts and memories several miles _up_ on a ship capable of moving through an endless void based on nothing more than theories and physics. Now maybe on Vulcan all of that makes some kinda stupid sense, but to the rest of us it's all techno babble and gibberish! We left logic behind a long time ago, we're well into weird land!"

Kelvok nodded. "Someday you will understand."

"But until then, we're well on the stupid side of life. Now I came here to tell you that T'Purr, a talking _cat_ for crying out loud in case you forgot about the lack of logic we're working with, needs you to get hold of her, the outgoing communications need an incoming hail to calibrate the system."

Kelvok nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

Critch closed his eyes, and tapped his badge. "One to beam up." He disappeared a few seconds later, and Kelvok tapped his badge.

"Meowran here."

"Commander?"

"Good, everything's calibrated. Sir, you have to get back here ASAP."

"What is it, Commander?"

"The creatures, Sir, they're all starting to come to the surface. It's getting real bad, real quick."

"Thank you." Kelvok took one last look at his surroundings, the city, everything. Knowing that he was going to be the last person to ever see these particular sites. Then, as the ground shook from the impending creature emerging, he jogged to his shuttle, lifting off not seconds before a creature burst out of the earth; its mouth and vines eagerly searching for food. The shuttle moved into the air, breaking through the atmosphere, returning home, all the while its sole occupant thinking dark thoughts, knowing now that there was no other way.

Time had run out for the citizens of Cirrus Theta. The decision had been made.


	7. Chapter 7

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The following story takes place after "Forms of Life"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Needs of the Many

"_Captain's Log, Supplemental. What I do now I do of my own accord, and without any convincing or discussion from any other crewmember. When this entry is complete, I will be firing the modified weaponry upon Cirrus Theta. The fire from the weapon will spread over the planet, and combined with the poisons built into it will eradicate the plant-creatures completely. This, however, will carry a high price._

_The fire will destroy every living being on the face of the planet. All told, hundreds of millions of people, perhaps billions of people, will die quickly and painlessly, a far better death than being ripped apart by the creatures, but they will die none the less, and it will be my fault._

_The decision to evacuate the ship, to launch the escape pods that put this entire situation into motion, was mine. It was done quickly, without much time for thought or contemplation, and without a thought that the creatures could seed in such a small area, or have the intelligence to not only locate a suitable location but also actually plan how to spread themselves across the galaxy. It is because of my action, or inaction, that this horrid plan has been set into motion, and we can only hope now that it will end here._

_I expect the fallout from this to be large; I expect my judgment to be swift. I do not expect to be allowed to remain Captain of the Maximillian. Even if Admiral T'Kill and Admiral Blobbin agree with me, they will not be able to hold back the decisions of the Federation Council for long. I do not know if I will face prison time, or merely a court martial. Likely they will let me choose my fate, and perhaps there may be a small chance I will be able to remain here on the Max. That is my hope, as I have no desire to cease my duty to this ship and the Federation._

_As I take what may well be my final actions as head of this vessel, my worry is that my choice is flawed, that Lieutenant Commander Starblade may be correct in his assessment that there is a way to stop the creatures without further loss of life. I still fear that I am making this decision rashly, that my prior history with these creatures, is clouding my judgment. I worry that my Romulan half is influencing my decision. That I am being driven by an unhealthy desire for vengeance and revenge. What I do now I do because I believe it is right, and I believe that if we wait much longer it will be too late. While the Cirrans' right to live and thrive is very important, once again, the needs of the many, the Federation, the galaxy itself, must take priority._

_I understand this will come as no small consequence to the former citizens of Cirrus Theta." End entry._

Captain Kelvok entered the bridge slowly, trying to draw from within the courage to do the unthinkable, but what he believed must be done. He felt as if all eyes were on him, waiting for his next move, when in actuality the bridge staff were mainly preoccupied with their work. He visibly sighed as he sank into his chair, and prodded the panels on the armrests. After a moment, he looked up at the view screen, and saw the planet. Pristine, peaceful, unharmed. He tapped the panel, and instantly the screen changed from a thing of beauty to a vision out of the crew's worst nightmares. A sea of red vines seemed to flood half the planet, extending over the most populated areas, and then sinking deep within Cirrus Theta. Kelvok preferred this view; it served to make him feel better about his decision. After a moment, he asked to no-one in particular, "How many Cirrans are left on the planet?"

A few seconds passed, and T'Purr answered from the rear. "Around two billion sir and dropping." He noted the flood of ships coming from the planet's surface, a last ditch escape effort. He imagined the vines snaking out, grabbing the nacelles and lower halves of the craft, some being pulled down, others being almost invisibly seeded. If the ships made it off, many would be infected, and in the ensuing chaos, there was no way all the ships would be able to be stopped before the creatures would spread to other worlds. Even with their limited capabilities they would be able to seed other planets in the system, the cycle would begin anew, that much was sure.

"How much of the planet's surface is under the control of the creature?" Kelvok knew the answer would not be good, but he was not prepared when Critch threw out the percentage.

"65%"

It was quiet again, before Kelvok stood. This was not something anyone else should have to witness, at least on the bridge. He could imagine what the aftermath would be.

"Lieutenant Commander Skrit, if you would please clear the bridge?"

Skrit, startled at the order. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Clear the bridge. Quickly."

Skrit reluctantly nodded, and gave the necessary orders. One by one, the bridge staff followed the directive. As they did so many gave confused looks towards their captain. Critch passed by him slower than the rest. "What are you going to do?"

Kelvok lowered his head, and then raised it. "What I have to."

Critch knew what he was going to do, and wanted to find a way to stop him with every fiber of his being. But he could do nothing but continue to walk, until he was in the turbolift with Skrit and the last of the bridge crew. Kelvok was now the only member of the _Maximillian_ on the bridge.

He sat back down, tapping the side panels lightly. Targeting reticules appeared on the screen over very specific areas of the planet. He paused. Only one more button to press to complete the sequence. For billions of years the planet had evolved, all those years suddenly at Kelvok's control. He closed his eyes; willing himself to forsake his emotions, to forget his Romulen side crying out for vengeance...

His finger fell to the keypad, and as though it was just another task to be completed, the button was pressed.

Four perfect blue balls of energy flew out of the _Maximillian's_ torpedo tubes. These specially outfitted Quantum torpedoes moved towards Cirrus Theta, and hit their mark in the atmosphere. They exploded, each on different sides of the planet, in a blaze of orange and yellow. But whereas most fire would burn out, especially at such a high altitude, these explosions expanded, building upon themselves, outward and downward. The fire moved over the skies and to the ground. Every creature was instantly eradicated, every living thing torched beyond recognition, every form of life snuffed out in a single instant as the four distinct fires surged forth, covering and coating the planet surface in a bleak grey ashy darkness. Within the fire was a powerful poison that was coating the air itself, making it so that if anything could conceivably survive the searing flames, they would be left without any air to breathe. Cirrus Theta went from being an Eden of forests and plains and oceans to being a dead planet, incapable of supporting any life for the next several thousand years.

Kelvok watched from his chair as the four fires came together, joining within each other, making them stronger. Around two billion Cirrans were saved from the fate of a horrible death by maiming or being eaten, but only because their death was of a different sort. Fire and poison brought a quick end to the idyllic race, whose only crime had been to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He did not take his eyes from the view screen even as the first hails from the Cirran ships began coming in or when the first Cirran ships began attacking the _Maximillian_. The Cirrans believed they were just defending themselves. Their primitive weapons would do little to no harm to the _Maximillian._ They were angry, beside themselves with horrendous grief. There could be no explanation for what he had done; no apology could ever be enough to allow his actions to pass. He placed a call for the senior staff to return to the bridge.

The next few hours were hell, as Kelvok ran on autopilot to attempt to soothe the crews of the attacking ships. In the end, their weapons were simply disabled. One mournful Captain of a Cirran vessel drove his ship into the _Maximillian_, attempting to cause critical damage, or at least avenge his lost home world. The ship harmlessly skipped off the shields and exploded. More lives lost.

Admiral T'Kill had known this was coming, had seen it in Kelvok's eyes, so he took it upon himself to calm the leaders of the former planet. The Minister felt betrayed, that this was the plan all along. It was an extremely touchy diplomatic situation that even Admiral Blobbin had to take seriously. In the end a tentative cease-fire was arranged, but only if Captain Kelvok were removed from command, pending a Federation tribunal, and all Federation vessels would leave their space immediately. They neither requested nor needed any help to attempt to locate a new home. Blobbin successfully lobbied for more time to scan their vessels to assure that no creatures had seeded their young aboard.

So it was that Kelvok was in his quarters. He was not removed totally from command, he retained his rank of Captain, but this was all pending the outcome of the council's decision, a series of trials that would take months, he thought. He had talked to few on the ship since the incident, only his closest friends, Jaydin most often. The decision was a sore subject, and was rarely brought up. Relations were strained with most of the crew for some time, but in the long run, no friendships were lost. Kelvok knew his time was limited as Captain of this starship, whether he would be forced out by the council or by something else. Certain things had to be put in motion.

Before this all started, Kelvok had been relaxing in a chair with a book of ancient lore. This is where he now sat, as the _Maximillian_ moved through the stars back to Earth, when the door rang. Setting the book down beside a cup of tea, Kelvok stated aloud, "Enter."

The door 'shooshed' open to reveal Critch Starblade, who had seemingly been in the Captain's chair more than Kelvok recently, still serving as acting First Officer. Tamak was still in the brig, another thing that would be taken care of with the council. Critch walked in. "You rang?"

"Yes, Critch, we have something to discuss."

Critch lounged on Kelvok's sofa. "We do?"

"I will be brief; I know you have other duties to attend to. The bottom line, as you would call it, is that I will not be allowed to continue as Captain for much longer. I intend for you to be my replacement."

Critch was silent for a moment, letting it sink in. "Me?"

"You have proved yourself on multiple occasions, and have stood up for what you believe is right even when it would be considered going against orders. This is what I believe makes a good officer, and your time in grade makes you an ideal candidate."

Critch shook his head. "I don't think I'm ready, Kelvok...and T'Kill would never allow it."

"Leave Admiral T'Kill to me, I still hold some pull, and Admiral Blobbin has no objections. Nobody can truly know they are ready until they actually take on the challenge. I was not ready when it was passed to me, but I believe I have done well, at least until this current situation." Critch was silent, and Kelvok continued. "I know of no one else worthier of a chance to prove themselves than you. Ever since you have uncovered your heritage, you have been searching for a way to become more than you ever were intended to be. I believe this is your chance, Critch."

Critch looked Kelvok in the eye. "If you're wrong..."

"Then you will be replaced. But you should know by now that I am rarely wrong."

"That's extremely debatable."

"And I would love the opportunity for a debate, but you still have duties, you are not Captain yet, and may not be for some time. Assemble a list of your choices for officers, and..."

"Jaydin for 1st, Skrit for 2nd, T'Purr for 3rd. Done."

"I thought that you had not considered this much?"

Critch smirked. "Never any harm in being prepared." They saluted each other, and shook hands. Critch departed Kelvok's quarters, and Kelvok reclined in his chair. Perhaps a nap was in order now that everything had been taken care of.

"_Despite everything that has happened, I still feel that this ship and crew will reach bigger and brighter heights, especially under Commander Starblade's leadership. His unique style may be abrasive to some, and others may not like the direction he takes the Maximillian, but I believe that, as a Captain, Critch will live up to the heritage of this ship, and find his true place in the galaxy._

End log."

The figure on the view screen of the Romulan Warbird could not be easily seen through the smoke that seemed to invade the ship, but he stood tall nonetheless, exuding authority and power. For the tall Reman that commanded this Warbird, it seemed to be a waste of effort. They both knew who was truly in charge here; cheap theatrics would not change anything.

"Forgive me, Reman, I do not share your feelings that this was not a complete failure for you. It was a miracle that your new cloaking technology was not detected!"

The Reman took the insult, did not offer one back, only stood, answering the authoritative Romulan with a deep, solemn voice. "But it was not. The planet was still destroyed, and this may serve to distract the Federation so our 'tests' may continue. And a Vulcan Captain is shamed, his First Officer, also a Vulcan, jailed. Surely you can see the triumph?"

"Where you see triumph I see only trouble. This "_Maximillian_..."

"Is not a concern. If they insist on remaining involved, I will simply persuade them otherwise."

"Reuse your Vulcan, you mean?"

"Only if it comes to that, I assure you."

"Fine. I don't need to remind you of the importance of what we are doing."

"No, you don't."

"Then go to it."

The screen faded out, and all was dark. The tall Reman placed his scepter at his side, and sat in his command chair, and ordered his ship to cloak. Soon it was on its way to the next destination. He pondered his leader's instructions and frowned. But he soon remembered that he had taken orders before. But before it had been out of friendship, not of necessity. And he knew that once the plans came to fruition, his leader's life would be forfeit. There would a price to pay for his insults.

He had survived many things. Years in the mines of Remus. Battles beyond number, including a fight with the Enterprise and its first officer. Sneaking out on a stolen shuttle from Starfleet's own facilities. And discovering that his friend had been lost and all their plans had gone awry.

For Vkruk, Shinzon's Viceroy, the current situation was only a minor setback.


End file.
